Bummer! Pool closing for renovations!
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Iron Dan posted 13 weeks ago.
Most wetsuits should be able to hold up to constant use. Just make sure you get a quality one and you should be good to go. I have a De Soto 2 piece wetsuit and really like it and have advertised that here before, the nice thing with them and I am sure most other manufacturers is that they have a 100% warranty on anything that might fail that is not due to negligence on the part of the owner. If you are worried about overuse, just make sure you get a wetsuit that has a similar warranty.
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theShiba posted 13 weeks ago.
Just make sure to keep it clean, and you should be fine. Don't think that because you are using it every day you don't need to clean it...
"Every journey has a secret destination of which the traveler is unaware." —Martin Buber
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M posted 13 weeks ago.
Not to sound like someone's mom, but you might want to
-convince a fellow pool refugee to join you
-enlist another beachgoer (if any) and tell them what you're doing
-or at least tell someone where you'll be and when you expect to be back.
Good luck, and have fun becoming the open water expert.
--M
339
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TriSooner posted 13 weeks ago.
With 50-degree water you will want a full (I suspect). And M posted, you want to look into a PFD that swimmers use. The only inflate if you pull the CO2 rip-cord. I've seen a few on the market in tri mags. Something like:
http://www.marinewiz.com/Mustang_belt_pack_pfd_p/27531.htm
Ironman Germany, July 6, 2008
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GGehrke posted 13 weeks ago.
TriSooner wrote:
And M posted, you want to look into a PFD that swimmers use.
That is actually a really good idea. I've seen those but hadn't thought about using one.
And it's ironic M mentioned "someone's mom" because my mother (also a triathlete) in fact HAS told me I'm not to do open water swimming alone.
Did I mention there are sharks here too?
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deepbluex posted 13 weeks ago.
for cold water swimming, I also recommend a neoprene 3mm swimcap. They look like old WW1 pilot helmets with a chin strap. They really help keep the noggin' warm. Put a regular swim cap on top of that for even better insulation.
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366 days
Iron Dan posted 13 weeks ago.
I saw another personal floatation device designed for swimming earlier today in a magazine of mine. Same principle as the one TriSooner posted about.
164
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151 days
GGehrke posted 12 weeks ago.
Well, this morning I sprang for a DeSoto 2 piece wetsuit plus one of those neoprene cap thingies. Hopefully it'll be here by the weekend and I can get back to swimming.
Now here's a follow on question -- what sort of workouts should I do in open water? At the pool I was doing sets usually of under 300m max, but that doesn't make a lot of sense in open water. Should I just swim steady for 15 mins at a time? Should I try to do short sets with treading or floating between? If I'm leaving from a beach, should I just go straight out and back, try to do a triangle of some sort? I think there may be some buoys for kayakers at my local beach which I can utilize. A little quick googling turned up a bit of advice, but nothing great.
I'm specifically training for HIM distance.
Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks!
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125 days
M posted 12 weeks ago.
We were at the Outer Banks last fall looking to do some OW practice...not a regular workout, of course, but just practice with the whole thing. Because there's a row of houses up and down along the beach, and then a road that parallels, we picked out some distinctive houses and drove the parallel road in the car to determine what the distances would be. Then we swam parallel to shore from House A to House B or C or whatever and back. Obviously the distance measure is rough, and you're likely to swim "farther" going one direction than the other, but it's a reasonable thing to start with (esp if you go without a watch). We went just far enough out that we wouldn't be getting caught in a crashing wave, too easily washed ashore, or interfered with by a sandbar. Going parallel is good because you never have to be that far out, no matter how far you go, and if you get a cramp or something else that means you're ready to stop earlier than planned, you just let the waves bring you in and walk the rest of the way back.
--M
Just found out my local pool is closing March 2 - May 12 for renovations. With my A-Race on March 29th and a few more fun ones soon after that, I'm not happy!
Since I only live a few blocks from the beach, I think I might just buy a really nice, really comfy wetsuit and get lots of experience at open water swimming! Anyone know of a wetsuit that will hold up well to frequent use?
Let's see, current buoy data says it's a luxurious 54 degrees!! Awesome!! (not)
-Grant-